This invention relates to mechanical refrigeration compressor operated evaporation coils which absorb heat.
This invention is provided because it is frequently desirable to maintain a refrigeration evaporation coil in a continually cold condition within a limited temperature range while it is being subjected to alternately high and low heat loads.
In the present state of the art when an evaporator must be maintained at a constant temperature under varying heat loads either a re-heat system or a hot gas bypass system is used.
In a re-heat system, cold is continually provided and when that much cold is not needed, excess cold is eliminated by an electrical heater or by the heat output of the condenser of the system. Since the compressor runs continually regardless of the load it is obviously inefficient and wasteful of energy.
In a hot gas bypass control system the condenser is bypassed and the hot output of the compressor goes directly back into the compressor intake, or goes directly into the evaporator to restrict the cooling capacity of the evaporator. The compressor here also runs continually never turning off. It is also obvious here that this system produces controlled cold rather inefficiently and wastes much electrical energy when serving lighter heat loads.
A commonly used method to limit the output of a refrigeration system when it is loaded to less than its capacity is to cycle the compressor on and off, and cool the evaporator coil spasmodically. If one attempts, however, to use this system to maintain an evaporator coil in a continually cold condition within a limited temperature range under less than a maximum load, it requires such short periods of on and off, that the frequent starts of the compressor consume excess electricity and these short and frequent cycles generally lead to early compressor failure.
One object of my invention is to provide an energy saving temperature stabilized evaporator coil which, under different heat loads, remains within a limited temperature range during extended periods of the off cycle of the compressor serving it, and which does not become excessively cold during the on cycle of the compressor serving it.
It is a prime object of this invention to provide a self water filling refrigeration evaporator heat sink coil which will condense moisture from the air passing through it and which will hold and maintain a desired amount of that moisture in the form of water and employ it as a heat sink.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a trouble free and highly efficient evaporator coil which is temperature stabilized by a heat sink employing the latent heat effect of condensed and retained water being changed in state or phase between liquid and solid.
A salient object of this invention is to provide a temperature stabilized evaporator coil which stores water in a fashion whereby the freezing of that water does not damage the system employing it.
A principal object of the invention is to provide an evaporator coil with air fins operating near the freezing temperature of water yet which fins will not easily frost up and restrict the air flow through it.